Curso de lógica

Announcements

Week 1

Okay. We are on our way! First week of class begins now.

This week, your goal is to master the material in lesson 1. This should not be too hard. The lesson is mostly overview. That said, you should not shortchange the material. This lesson talks about the main ideas of Logic and how they relate to each other, and it provides a framework for organizing the rest of the material in the course.

This week, you should also master the art of doing online problems. You should check out the Notes and the Extras and the Puzzles, and you should figure out how to use Discussion Forum.

A word about certificates. There are approximately 70 problems in this course, and your grades on these problems will determine your overall grade for the course. We will be issuing certificates of accomplishment to all students who complete the course with a cumulative grade of 70% of the possible maximum score, and we will offer Statements of Distinction to all students who complete the course with a cumulative grade of 90% or more.

Finally, a few words about the online problems. First of all, you can submit your answers to any problem as often as you like, and the system will take your highest grade. Second, all problems provide immediate feedback. When you check a checkbox or make a selection from a menu or compete a proof, the system will tell you immediately whether the answer is correct, even BEFORE you submit your answers for grading. The upshot is that, for some problems, there is no reason not to get a perfect score.

Yes, we realize that it is possible to "game" the system by dumbly trying all answers until you get the right one and then submitting that answer. However, this is already possible. There is nothing stopping you from signing up twice, getting the right answers from one account and using them in your other account. Besides, for many problems, mostly proofs, finding a correct answer is a challenge, and you will have to work hard to get that coveted green checkmark. And we do not reveal proofs until after the hard deadline.

The main reason for this seemingly lax approach to grading is our belief that there is great pedagogical value in immediate feedback rather than waiting for hours or days or even weeks to see the results. This is the first time doing things this way. When the course is over, let us know what you think.

mrg and abhijeet and daniel

Mon 29 Sep 2014 12:00 PM PDT

Welcome!

We are happy to have you join us for this introductory course on Logic. This is the fifth time we are offering the course in this online format. We believe the online format has the potential for improving Logic education and for bringing the material to a wide audience.

The course consists of ten lessons on different aspects of Logic. Each lesson consists of several sections, each with its own video and notes and exercises. Our intent is to proceed through one or two lessons each week, which means you need to view a few hours of video and do a handful of exercises each week.

In addition to these lessons, the course contains some additional material, puzzles, and ancillary readings for those of you who want to explore beyond the primary material of the course. This additional material is not required. However, you are encouraged to look at these materials as they reinforce and extend the course in interesting ways.

The course begins officially on September 29. You should study the first lesson during the first week and do the corresponding problems by the end of the week. If you miss the nominal deadline, you have an additional week to do the problems.

Importantly, you should take advantage of the discussion forum to communicate with your fellow students and with the instructors. Use the forum to ask questions, answer questions, and add additional material to the course.

We hope the course will be a rewarding, educational, and entertaining experience for you. We are sure that it will be a learning experience for us; and we are looking forward to working with you.

mrg and abhijeet and daniel